The majority of modern large aircraft use engine bleed air to heat the wing in order to provide ice protection. There is now a demand for high efficiency aircraft. This will result in the elimination of bleed air systems since bleed air contributes significantly to aircraft engine inefficiency.
Conventional control of electrical systems requires that all loads are fed from a common power bus, each with its own means of electrical isolation in the form of a contact breaker (CB) which is normally located in or near to the cockpit. With a significant number of loads the weight of the power distribution system becomes significant and impacts on the aircraft's efficiency.
An example of a prior art ice prevention system is disclosed on U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,322. The system comprises a plurality of self-contained modules for de-icing areas of the leading edges of the wings of an aircraft. Each module receives power from an ac power source and drives a magnetic pulse actuator to de-ice an area of the leading edge of the wing. Each module acts in a self-contained manner automatically without any central control. Thus whilst this system provides a benefit of being modular, it suffers from the disadvantage of lacking the ability for central control of the de-icing of areas of the aircraft e.g. to enable separate or coordinated control of the de-icing of areas.
It is therefore an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide a modular aircraft control system which uses a localized modular control to provide a control system which improves the aircraft's efficiency.